JAKARTA: Malaysian palm oil futures rebounded on Thursday, closing at their highest level in a month supported by a surge in crude oil prices. The benchmark palm oil contract for May delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange rose by 26 ringgit, or 0.62 percent, to close at 4,205 ringgit (USD1,067.26) per metric ton, the highest since February 5.
The contract reached as much as 4,268 ringgit per ton earlier in the session, its highest level since January 30, after declining in early trading on Thursday.
“Bursa Malaysia crude palm oil futures have recovered from early losses. The recovery in palm oil futures is attributed to the major shift in price dynamics as palm oil is now at a discount against gas oil due to gas oils’ extraordinary rally amidst the Middle East tensions,” said Anilkumar Bagani, commodity research head at Mumbai-based brokerage Sunvin Group.
The threat of disruptions to vegetable oil shipments through the Middle East has also supported palm oil prices, as they could benefit from higher demand due to constrained soy oil and sunflower oil supply, he added.
Dalian’s most-active soy oil contract remained unchanged, while its palm oil contract added 0.64 percent. Soy oil on the Chicago Board of Trade gained 0.47 percent.